Height of frustration

Disney’s theme parks like to be described as “the happiest places on earth”.

Try telling that to an irate father whose child was denied entry to the company’s newest park in Shanghai. He’s now suing Disney in a local court, according to China Youth Daily.

The trouble began when Liu Demin bought a parent-child package for Rmb499 ($76) online. But when he tried to get his 10 year-old son into Shanghai Disney in January his child was refused entrance. The problem: his boy’s height exceeded the maximum 1.4 metres for a child pass. He was told he’d have to buy him an adult ticket instead. (Adults pay Rmb399 off-peak and Rmb575 during holidays and weekends.)

Liu fumed to China Youth Daily: “Is the child pass sold to children or only to anyone below 1.4 metres tall? I am upset by the park’s unreasonable rules, which should be fairer, like the standards used at other Disney Parks.” For instance, a child’s ticket at the Disney park in Tokyo isn’t assessed by height, but available to anyone between the ages of 4 and 11. In the Hong Kong park the height is also irrelevant (a child is defined as 3-11 years-old).

Shanghai Disney also seems to have picked a fight with a guy who knows his legal rights: Liu is a judge with the Guangdong People’s Court. And he demanded his day in court even after Shanghai International Theme Park (the co-owner of the resort) had offered an apology and a refund. He is saying that he will only back down when Shanghai Disney revises the standards for child tickets and bases them on age rather than height.

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